The Early Career Researcher Podcast

Charlie Rozier
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The Early Career Researcher Podcast

The Early Career Researcher podcast aims to provide a regular forum for discussion on all things relating to the life and work of Early Career Researchers working in the Humanities. Join us for weekly advice on applying for research jobs, careers advice, help with job applications, and support on issues such as mental health and wellbeing. We are: Charlie (works as a lecturer on a fixed-term contract, with eight years of lecturing experience in the UK); Rachael (several years of experience in academic and related fields, including lecturing and research administration, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher); and Olivia (several years of work experience prior to beginning a PhD, which she is currently in the final year of writing). Episodes are accompanied by our blogs, which summarise the topics discussed in the podcast, and provide useful links on where to get further information and help.

  1. Episode 22: Is UK Academia in Crisis?

    4 DAYS AGO

    Episode 22: Is UK Academia in Crisis?

    In this episode, Charlie and Rosie are joined by special guest Ben Jones, Lecturer at the University of East Anglia and long-term representative of the University and Colleges Union (UCU). We embark on a detailed discussion of the financial crisis that has been affecting academia in the UK over the past few years (and which has hit the humanities hard). We discuss: the causes of the crisis, current responses by Universities and UK Government, and possible long-term solutions, and then, what Early Career Researchers can be doing to help navigate our own position in the midst of this mess! Please do follow us on social media (Twitter/X and BlueSky: @ECRPodcasters) and leave us a review after listening! Links to information mentioned in the show: University and Colleges Union: https://www.ucu.org.uk Article on UK academia in The Week: https://theweek.com/education/uk-universities-why-higher-education-is-in-crisis# Article on the crisis in the Guardian newspaper: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/11/the-guardian-view-on-campus-cuts-academics-pay-a-high-price-for-westminsters-mistakes

    1h 10m
  2. Episode 21: Challenges in the Publishing Industry and what you need to know

    JAN 27

    Episode 21: Challenges in the Publishing Industry and what you need to know

    In this episode, Charlie is joined by our regular contributor Rosie (Brepols publishers), and our special guest Caroline Palmer (Boydell & Brewer publishers). We discuss challenges and changes seen in academic Humanities publishing over the past 10 years, and give advice on what this means for ECRs, as you seek to disseminate your work among intended readers by liaising with publishers (and hopefully getting book deals!) You can find more information about Rosie and Caroline's employers by finding them online at: https://www.brepols.net and https://boydellandbrewer.com

    1h 4m
  3. Episode 20: Reflecting on a year of the Early Career Researcher Podcast

    12/20/2024

    Episode 20: Reflecting on a year of the Early Career Researcher Podcast

    For our twentieth episode, Charlie and Rachael spend some time reflecting on a year of working on the ECR Podcast. We discuss our aims when we started, whether we think we've achieved them, what we've enjoyed most about podcasting on this topic, what we've found most difficult, and we talk about plans for what we would like to do next in our future episodes. We hope that this episode offers a fun tour of what we've already done and a teaser of what we're going to do next, and we also hope that it can provide some inspiration for anyone else who is thinking of starting their own podcasting project.

    47 min
  4. Episode 19: Public Engagement Initiatives in the Humanities

    11/29/2024

    Episode 19: Public Engagement Initiatives in the Humanities

    In our latest episode, Charlie and Rachael are joined by Lucy, our resident expert in Public Engagement for the Humanities! We begin by talking about what PE actually is, what PE initiatives can look like and what sort of activities count as public engagement. We give some tips on how to get involved in Public Engagement, what kinds of activities make for successful and not so successful activities, and we reflect on how our experiences of PE have influenced our academic careers.

    56 min
  5. Episode 18: Writing Book Reviews

    11/08/2024

    Episode 18: Writing Book Reviews

    In this episode, Charlie, Rachael and Steph convene to talk about writing academic book reviews. Whether you ave no idea what an academic book review is, or if you've thought about writing one but never had the chance, or if you've written several but without really being happy with the results, we have something for you! Join us as we discuss: 1) what academic book reviews are and why they exist, 2) how to get involved in writing them, 3) what makes a good or a bad book review, 4) our tips on writing helpful reviews, and 5) some guidance on how to make the decision to review, or not to review. Please feel free to leave us feedback via our Spotify account, on Twitter (@ecrpodcasters), BlueSky (@ecrpodcasters) or email: ecrpodcasters@gmail.com and thank you for listening!

    1h 4m
  6. Episode 17: Producing Edited Volumes

    10/22/2024

    Episode 17: Producing Edited Volumes

    In this episode, Charlie is joined by Rosie and a new guest, Stephanie Brown, as we discuss the topic of Edited Volumes. After we start by outlining our varying levels of experience with the genre, we then spend time thinking about: 1) what these edited collections are for and why they exist; 2) how you might go about writing an individual chapter for an edited collection, and 3) how (and how not) to go about being the editor of a collection of essays: from original conception, through to chapter selection, liaison with publishers, dealing with authors, and how to finish the project on time.

    1h 3m
  7. Episode 16: Dealing with Anonymous Peer Review

    10/01/2024

    Episode 16: Dealing with Anonymous Peer Review

    In this episode, Charlie, Rachael, and Rosie (now official Friend Of The Show) discuss the process of anonymous peer review. We talk about 1) what anonymous peer review is for and how the process works (for monographs as well as journal articles and book-chapters), 2) how it can feel to receive peer review and what some of the challenges are for us as authors; and 3) how to GIVE peer review, for the maximum benefit of the original authors. We bring various perspectives, including Rachael as an ECR who has only a little experience of the process, to Charlie who has given and received plenty of good and bad peer review, and Rosie: an academic in her own right who has taken part in the process, but also as Publishing Manager at Brepols: a company which could not exist without peer review. Please do leave us your feedback, and follow us on X: @ecrpodcasters, Bluesky: @ecrpodcasters, and you can write to us at ecrpodcasters@gmail.com

    44 min
  8. Episode 15: Conquering Imposter Syndrome

    09/13/2024

    Episode 15: Conquering Imposter Syndrome

    In this episode, Charlie and Rachael are joined by Dr Laura Varnham of Oxford University, as we talk about Imposter Syndrome. We walk through what Imposter Syndrome is, how to spot it, and how we can develop short and long-term strategies for beating it back into the abyss that is belongs in! We recognise that all of us are affected in different ways and that there are no catch-all solutions for boosting academic self-confidence, but we try to work through some ways that have helped us in the past, and may be of use to other ERCs. The episode fits alongside Laura's helpful blog on Imposter Syndrome which you can find here: https://drlauravarnam.wordpress.com/2019/09/16/practical-tips-for-dealing-with-imposter-syndrome-and-negative-thoughts/ For more info, follow Laura on Twitter/X here: https://x.com/lauravarnam or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drlauravarnam/?hl=en-gb Feel free to leave comments and feedback, and follow us on Twitter/X and on BlueSky, where you can find us under the tag @ecrpodcasters

    1 hr
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About

The Early Career Researcher podcast aims to provide a regular forum for discussion on all things relating to the life and work of Early Career Researchers working in the Humanities. Join us for weekly advice on applying for research jobs, careers advice, help with job applications, and support on issues such as mental health and wellbeing. We are: Charlie (works as a lecturer on a fixed-term contract, with eight years of lecturing experience in the UK); Rachael (several years of experience in academic and related fields, including lecturing and research administration, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher); and Olivia (several years of work experience prior to beginning a PhD, which she is currently in the final year of writing). Episodes are accompanied by our blogs, which summarise the topics discussed in the podcast, and provide useful links on where to get further information and help.

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